Hold My Hand
by HarvestMoonGlows
Summary: Not all stories of love end with happily ever after with a carriage ride to the castle and a cherry on top.
1. Farina

**Hello there! I'm starting a new fic, so I hope you like it!**

**This was inspired by me reading the newest chapter of 'Of Love and Faith' By Kuruk. So, this story goes out to you! I wouldn't have thought this without you! Kudos to you!**

Chapter One: Farina

Love.

Such a simple four letter word can bring about so many emotions. To some it means happy memories and passing notes in class. Others remember it as bringing only heartbreak and those poor souls become the 'Modern Scrooges'. And some feel that their fine with the love you have with friends and family.

But not all stories of love end with happily ever after with a carriage ride to the castle and a cherry on top.

Let's begin, shall we?

****

Tim Smith was the only doctor of Mineral Town, well, he had Elli, but you could say he was a tad sexist and therefore didn't think of her as a doctor.

Anyone who even considers him or herself a doctor has heard of Dr. Hardy, and Tim most certainly has. This is why when the opportunity arose to study under such a legend, Tim leapt at the chance and was accepted as his intern.

"You think you can handle things while I'm gone, Elli?" He inquired the young frilly nurse, who nodded her head.

"I can handle things for… three seasons, is it?" She asked. His confidence in her competence dropped quickly and he sighed.

"Yes."

The whole town had gathered to wish him goodbye. Young and old, the healthy and sick, they all knew him in some way and cared for him.

"Are you going to stand all day, or are you actually going?" Barley shouted from the crowd. Tim smiled and began the journey up the path into another little town known as Forget-Me-Not Valley.

The journey to the Valley was rather boring, but stepping on top of 'mountain' and seeing it for the first time, well, anyone would have had their breath taken away, and Tim was no exception.

Walking further in the Valley made only made him stare more open mouthed. Mineral Town was known for being in the country and in 'the middle of nowhere', but this place was extremely out of the way. The people here grew crops in their own backyards, while everyone back home simply bought all they needed from the supermarket, which he had yet to see.

Not knowing left from right in this place, he looked around for the first person to ask directions from; this happened to be young blond chatting merrily with her brunette haired friend.

"Excuse me? But do you perhaps know where the clinic is?" He asked. The blonde turned to him; her green eyes flashed with… eagerness? He wasn't quite sure.

"Ohh!" She cooed. "You must be the new intern! I'm Muffy and this Celia," The brunette waved with a knowing look on her face- "You are as handsome as the rumors say! Well, I suppose I should show you to the clinic! Follow me!"

She turned and began to walk down the road, but turned around.

"Oh, and just so you know. I think doctors are sexy!" She finished off with a wink and turned again, her high heels tapping lightly on the hard dirt path.

He stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do, what to say.

He friend, Celia, started to follow Muffy but also turned to the doctor when her friends' back was turned.

"Thought I'd warned you; last week it was farmers." She then began to follow her friend down to where ever this clinic was.

What was she talking about?

Upon reaching the clinic, Tim was surprised it was so small, what would they do if there was some big emergency, like a car accident? But he reminded himself that he hadn't seen a car so far, not even tire marks.

"Well," Muffy said, standing in front of the door so he couldn't enter. "I insist you come by the Blue Bar sometime. I can only imagine how stressful it is being a doctor."

"I'm not sure if-"

"I _insist." _Her voice had dropped to a soft purr.

His voice caught in his throat and he felt his face redden as she turned up her charm so much most men would have fainted.

"I'll see what I can do." He said in defeat.

She giggled and gave him a hug. "I hope I can see you soon." She trotted off to the Bar, a small skip in her step.

Celia sighed and gave him that knowing look again. _"Farmers." _She mouthed to him. He nodded numbly, finally seeing her point.

She left a moment later and he was left all alone in front of the small clinic. His hand reached for the knob, almost turning it, but hesitating. Could he really stand near such an idol like Dr. Hardy? It wasn't too late, he could still go back to Mineral Town, or go someplace else. It was easy to believe he'd been eaten by a mountain lion or something.

"If you're not going to come in, leave." A rough voice came from the door. He gasped and quickly opened the door, revealing the place where he would spend three seasons of his life being an intern.

The walls were the same white wash as you would find in most hospitals. A green velvet carpet covered the floor; the rest of the clinic was filled with the essentials; such as an examination table, a blood pressure machine, a Seeing Eye chart and many other things that would take up to much time to list and would bore you to death, and we can't have that, can we?

Standing in the middle of the room was infamous Dr. Hardy, eyeing him with contempt. Tim suspected because had been standing in front of the door like an idiot, things most definitely weren't starting off well.

"Hmm, you must be Tim." Dr. Hardy mused. Tim observed every aspect of the man, from his red and white striped shorts, to the mechanical eye that had made many a child cry.

A tense silence engulfed the room, Tim wasn't sure how to break it, and so he said the first thing that came into his little medical textbook head.

"So, how did you lose your eye?" The words flew out before he could stop them. He tried to cover it up with a nervous laugh, but if you know Dr. Hardy, he wasn't going to let him off that easily.

"This isn't the place for stupid questions, Mr. Smith." He said, the corners of his mouth twitching upward ever so slightly. He secretly loved it when people asked this question, but he never would answer it, and no one knew why.

"Now," He continued. "Today I was going to go do check up on Miss Romana and her niece. I _was_ going to leave you hear until I got back, but now I think I'll take you with me and prove whether or not my first impression was wrong."

Tim could only not stupidly. Dr. Hardy nodded also and headed out the door, Tim followed suit.

They both walked up the road to the Villa in a rather uncomfortable silence, at least on Tim's part.

When they reached the Villa, Tim was once again amazed, the only place as grand as this back in Mineral Town was the Library.

"Don't stare, it's rude." Dr. Hardy said. Tim felt there was something more in what he meant.

They were greeted at the door by the Butler, Tim thought his name was Sebastian or something like that, but couldn't quite recall.

A young girl playing the piano stopped momentarily to greet them and then went back to practicing.

"Alright. I am going to check on Romana, you will check on her niece, Farina. Is that alright with you?" Tim knew that the last sentence was a test. He nodded and Dr. Hardy seemed pleased with that, but his face soon returned to its' perpetual frown.

"Good." He nodded. "Go up the stairs and take a right, it's the first door you see." With that, he headed towards Romana's room.

Tim followed his directions and soon found himself in front of the door were this Farina person stayed.

Upon entering the room, he heard the soft sound of singing, he looked and around and saw an aged turntable playing a song in some foreign language, perhaps French.

Sitting by the window listening quietly to the song was a young woman in a wheelchair. Tim could only stare at her, she was so beautiful. Her short brown hair that came to her chin had strands of honey and amber curled within her hair. Her nose was and delicate, and her skin pale, not unusually pale, no, but it reminded Tim of Snow White.

She turned towards him and opened her eyes, which were a soft blue, and he realized something.

She was blind.

"Are you… a doctor?" She asked softly, as is she hadn't used her voice in a long time.

He nodded, and then remembered she couldn't see. "Yes."

Her hands clutched the arms of her wheelchair in anger. "Get out." She whispered.

"E-excuse m-?"

"GET OUT!!" She screamed the words at the top of her lungs, making them reverberate on the walls.

**Yes, pretty sad, I know. I have know idea where I'm gonna go with this, so if you have any ideas, let's hear 'em!**

**Well, you know the drill! Review!**


	2. Aftermath

**ZOMG! I live! I'm truly sorry for this, everyone. I won't lie and say that I was busy or what not, I was just lazy and life hit me and it made me not write and eat ice cream! But I know I've probably lost some reviewers because of this, but I can only hope I can make up for it with my stories, no matter how bad they may be.**

**And thank you Kuruk, if you hadn't PM'd me, who knows, I might have given up on writing, I did that once long ago...**

**So yes, I live and I'll try to update often. I hope you all enjoy this, even though it's rather short and cliffy.**

Chapter Two: Aftermath

Muffy raised her eyebrows spectacularly. "What happened then, love?" She asked in a hushed voice so no one else would hear. It didn't matter; everyone was too drunk to really hear anything.

Tim gulped down his third glass Stone Oil before continuing, "Well, she just kept screaming like a two year-old so I got out of there. And then Hardy came in and _somehow_ calmed her down and then just glared at me. At me! I didn't do anything but what I was suppose too!" He folded his arms together in a pout. "Can I have another?" He asked after a moment of silent stewing.

Muffy started to gather the ingredients for the drink, but stopped when Griffin coughed softly. "I think you've had enough, love." She smiled.

Tim grumbled dark words that should never be repeated.

Muffy sighed. "I'm not sure what you want me to say, I've never truly met the girl and talked to her face-to-face," She began clearing away Tim's empty glasses as she spoke. "All I know is that she came to the Valley because of her health and that she can't –or won't- leave the Villa." She sighed again and put the glasses back in their designated places. "It's got everyone curious…"

Tim scowled, and was about to add his own opinion to the situation, when our good Dr. Hardy chose that moment to burst through the door of the bar, along with his perpetual frown.

His one good eye did a quick scan of the room before finding and settling on Tim. He stomped over to where Tim sat looking very much like a tea kettle about to boil over, and grabbed the collar of Tim's shirt and dragged him out of the bar without a word.

Muffy only stared in shock as the event took place, -she hadn't imagined Tim's promised visit would end like this- and when the door closed, she briefly considered running out to get the money for the drinks, but remember something she had learned from years of being a barmaid; Never court with danger.

And Dr. Hardy was certainly very dangerous at that present moment.

Outside, Dr. Hardy proceeded to dragged Tim into the small clinic and, upon shutting the door so no one else's prying ears could hear, turned around with his frown turning quickly into an animals' snarl.

But, perhaps for the better, when he turned around he saw Tim slumped on the door fast asleep.

He stood there for what seemed like an hour but in reality was only a minute, and slowly his rage cooled down enough that he was back to his same old frown, which for Tim, was better for his health, though he wasn't aware.

Ultimately, Dr. Hardy retreated to his bed, but not before dragging Tim to his own individual bed. Hardy was sometimes to kind for his own good.

Night carried on silently in the Valley before fleeing into the deep horizon, the residents slowly rose up with the sun. Of course, some did not wake until the sun was in the middle of the sky and the day was almost done once again. Tim was one of those 'some.'

Hardy watched without a sound as Tim rose from his bed on the floor while rubbing the particles of sleep out of his eyes. When Tim began to hold his black-haired head in his hands and moan, he took pity on him once again and poured water into a small transparent glass and took two pills out of some brand name bottle, even though those kinds of things were rather luxurious for a country doctor.

Tim accepted the pills and swallowed them without question.

"What… happened?" He asked when the hangover began to fade.

Dr. Hardy did not answer immediately; he paused and contemplated something that had gnawing at him for a while, like a starving rat chewing on a wire.

"I think," he began, his eyes becoming distant. "I should tell you something I should have said in the first place."

Tim only stared at him, his mind coming up with millions of idea of what the topic of conversation was.

"It's about Farina,"

His mood, which wasn't soaring to begin with, plummeted into the deep reaches of darkness.

Hardy turned his face towards him. "Don't give me that look, intern. For what you did last night, such as discussing what happened in private with your patients, you had _better_ listen to this." The matter was settled without argument.

Tim listened.

**As always, review! -hugs everyone- Love!**


	3. Revelations

**OMG! Now everything is updated, I guess I'll disappear again! ...I'm kidding. -is shot-**

**This was a really fun chapter to write, I was worried that it be hard to write, especially about Farina, but it turned out well in the end, I think. ;; Dr. Hardy's lines were my favorite! And so was the flashback. (ZOMG!! RUN! FLASHBACKS!!) Well, without further ado, I present chapter three of HMH!! Oh yes, and Sound of Music FTW!! -just watched it last night-**

Chapter Three: Revelations

"There are far too many ways to begin this story," Dr. Hardy said. He hated telling stories, and the beginnings were always his weak point. But he had to try at least. "But I think I can say truthfully and without pretty fabrications that it began as a seemingly normal day, or at least for a hospital."

He settled himself on the floor, knees underneath him, and took a sip from his coffee. It was luke-warm, he preferred it hot. "You see it all the time, especially in the big cities. People get shot in gang fights, mugged, abused by spouses, forget to yield, pneumonia and other diseases. Soon you are forced -must- swallow all tears. Show how little hope you have for your patient, and they lose hope too, and the will to live, perhaps. Hope is such a tricky thing, both an angel and a demon of sorts."

Tim's face scrunched up, trying to figure out where Hardy was going with this. But, he guessed, most of the older generation back in Mineral Town liked to muse over the ways things used to be, no matter how much it hurt them.

Dr. Hardy coughed, slightly embarrassed by his ramblings. "Forgive me, I digress. Anyway, one of those everyday things that you do, like driving a car… Well, Farina…"

* * *

_A frantic, typical chaos raged inside Lily Cove Hospital. Children cried, men paced, mothers either fiddled with their children's hair or bit their manicured nails, the elderly coughed and read month's old magazines. There were far too many magazines, and the place was beginning to smell like an old diaper…_

"_Oh, oh Goddess!" Cried the receptionist, her nose wrinkled up in a fruitless effort to block the smell. She glanced at a passing Doctor. "How can you stand that smell?!" She asked accusingly. _

_The man often referred by everyone, even his close friends, as Dr. Hardy simply looked at her skeptically "I wonder how long you'll last on this job if you can't stand a few dirty diapers. And please try and keep your discomfort to yourself, it's upsetting." _

_She flinched, surprised by his harsh words, then laughed. "I don't think I can quit anyway," she said. It was the truth; this was the best she could do with her degree. Why, she always wondered, why college have to cost so much? "It's no wonder that you have no girlfriend, Dr. Hardy." She teased._

_He shoved his hands in his pockets, and stared and his shoe, "No wonder indeed…" He muttered. But she didn't seem to notice his distant, whispered words._

_The shrill beep of his pager made him jump a little. "Got to go," he said, a small apology in his voice, "try and keep strong."_

_She gave him a small salute and he was off._

"_D-Doctor Hardy!" Yelled one of the interns, a large, easily frazzled woman. "We've got trouble, sir!!"_

"_Of what caliber?" He asked, taking the chart in her hands, glancing over it. It was something he saw often. A car crash. One girl and young man in the car. Another car didn't yield and the rest was history… "How are they?" He quickened his pace._

"_The girl, age ten, was in critical condition, but has since recovered and is now awake. Her older brother, age twenty-one, is…" She paused, her perfect robot-like recitation interrupted by emotions she had yet to swallow. It hurt too much to say the word. "…dead. He died instantly." She finished, wincing._

"_Does she know?"_

"_N-no, sir." She fiddled with the edge of her shirt; she didn't want to be the one to deliver the bad news to the poor girl._

_He sensed her discomfort, and sighed. He equally hated telling people about their loved ones deaths. "Don't worry, Elise. I'll do it." He offered._

_She smiled, and brushed her red hair away from her eyes. "T-thank you, sir!" She said, grateful. He brushed away her gratitude as they arrived at the door. They both entered, the door squeaked in protest against the intrusion, but they ignored it. _

_Dr. Hardy felt even worse about the news when he saw her, Farina was her name, he thought. Bandages covered her arms, her legs, her chest, and one was wrapped around her eyes. He glanced down again at the chart. Ah yes, she lost her eyesight, perhaps temporarily, but it was still too early to tell. _

_He cleared his throat, and all emotion wilted. "Hello, Miss Farina," he said. "And how are you feeling?" He hated to beat around the bush, but he was starting to doubt if this young, fragile girl could accept the news._

_She tilted her head to the side, as if she hadn't expected anyone in the room. "…I'm better…" She said a hushed voice. "Um, where's Andy?" _

_Ah, must be her nickname for her brother, Hardy observed. But he didn't say anything, and Elise took a step forward, shoes squeaking on the white floor. She really didn't want to be the one to do this…_

"_Honey," she started, "I'm really sorry, but your brother… Andy… isn't with us anymore…" Oh, such a simple four letter word. Why did it hurt so much to say it?_

_She tilted her head to the other side, confusion evident in her voice. "What do you mean…?"_

_Dr. Hardy finally stepped in and spoke. "Your brother is dead." He said simply and harshly. He regretted those words, she was too young! Too young to hear them so bluntly!!_

_Everything, the whole world seemed to stop that moment. Breath quieted, dust stopped dancing in the sun's rays, IV bags didn't drip a drop and all sound died, leaving everything fragile and ready to break. Just like that young girl in the hospital bed._

_Farina._

_And in the next moment everything was too loud and to fast. Farina began a whispered chanting until it became a wild, insane scream. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no… NO!!" She scrambled around, trying to get blindly out of bed, her IV popping out her arm in the process. She had to see him! It wasn't true! It couldn't be! It wasn't!!_

_Both Dr. Hardy and Elise jumped for her. Elise grabbed her arm pushed her down gently but forcefully, simultaneously putting the IV back in her arm. Dr. Hardy quickly grabbed a white stick-like object and pressed the button, sending relaxes into the IV, and then grabbed her other shoulder and pushed her down. He saw the edges of her bandages around her eyes begin to get darker in color as it soaked up her tears. "Why didn't you do anything…?" She asked silently._

_He had no answer for her._

* * *

"What happened after that?" Tim asked, trying to fill in the silence that had appeared after the story. He couldn't quite believe it. He didn't want to. He didn't want her to have a valid reason for her yelling and her hate. He didn't want to be wrong; it tasted rather bitter to be wrong.

Dr. Hardy blinked, woken up from memories. "She didn't talk to anyone, not even her parents. She lost the will to live, it seemed. And her eyesight never returned." Silence engulfed the room again, but it wasn't uncomfortable, but rather a respectful silence. As though anything said would ruin all and break, just like those many years ago.

Though people say time heals all wounds, it wasn't true in this case. Eight years hadn't healed the loss and hate, it had only numbed it. It was still raw. Still trickling blood.

Dr. Hardy broke the silence, but the world didn't break. "I eventually started to talk to her, and she began to talk back. She said I 'smelled' differently from the other employees, whatever that might mean." He chuckled slightly at the memory; it had also been the first time she smiled too.

Tim smiled too, though it was hard to imagine her say that. Then again, he'd only heard her yell at him. Smooth, Tim. Very smooth.

"And soon, she was released from the hospital to her parents. I shortly after retired to this place and by coincidence met her again, quite a small world we live in." He continued. Tim did not question his reason for retiring, Hardy had ways of speaking that showed he wasn't going to answer, and today he used one of them. A simple sideways glance worked wonders.

"Well," he stretched, bones popping, "I think we best get to sleep, we have to check up on Nina tomorrow, she isn't feeling so well. I hope you don't cause too much trouble there, _Tim." _Tim hated how much emphasis he put on his name.

_Maybe,_ Tim thought as he drifted into a deep slumber, _I can do something to apologize? I feel kind of bad, but she still shouldn't have yelled at me!! …I wonder if she's every seen the ocean? Is there any by Big Cities?_

**White stick thing? XD I fail! I hope that wasn't too 'Young and the Restless' for ya! And yes, we have ocean's next!!**

**And now... -wait for it- REVIEW!!**


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